U.S. prosecutor seeks sheriff job

A high-ranking federal prosecutor who was involved in the investigation that ousted former Sheriff Ken Jenne now wants to be Broward County sheriff.

Jeff Sloman, a Democrat and the No. 2 official in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, was interviewed by Gov. Charlie Crist at 1 p.m. Monday in Tallahassee.

Sloman's application to be interim sheriff was received on Saturday, said Anthony De Luise, a Crist spokesman.

Experts on legal and government ethics were divided about whether it was appropriate for Sloman to apply for the job from which he helped remove Jenne.

The three law professors said there was no ethical violation in Sloman seeking the job. However, two of them said they thought it looked inappropriate.Sloman defended his decision, saying the opportunity came out of the blue and he applied after speaking with several people in his office.

"The truth is there is absolutely no connection between the sheriff's investigation and my coveting this job," he said.

House Democratic leader Dan Gelber, a longtime friend, encouraged him to apply for the post, Sloman said. They first discussed it Oct. 7, he said. That was weeks after Jenne resigned and pleaded guilty to mail fraud conspiracy and income tax evasion in September.

Sloman expressed interest and Crist's office contacted him Friday to set up the interview, he said. Crist interviewed nine other finalists for the post on Friday.

Until he spoke with Gelber, Sloman said he never considered applying.

A highly respected prosecutor who has worked for the U.S. Attorney's Office since 1990, Sloman became chief of the criminal division in 2003 and First Assistant U.S. Attorney in October 2006. He is the primary legal adviser to the U.S. attorney and supervises 230 federal prosecutors and 225 support staff.

Sloman said he wasn't involved in day-to-day matters in the Jenne investigation but, as part of the chain of command, he participated in major decisions in the case.

After speaking with ethics advisers in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Sloman said he was satisfied there was no conflict of interest. He is now recused from all matters involving Jenne, a Democrat, who is expected to be sentenced to at least 18 months in prison next month.

Sloman's boss, U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta, said his office is taking no position on who should be the next sheriff. Since Sloman was approached about the job, the candidate has had no involvement in any matters related to Jenne or the Broward Sheriff's Office, Acosta said.

"It is not for us to tell someone what job they may or may not pursue," said Acosta, a Republican.

Bennett L. Gershman, a law professor who specializes in government ethics at Pace University in New York, said Sloman's application looked "unsavory" because of his role in the Jenne investigation.

"It looks peculiar," he said. "The appearance of a conflict of interest or impropriety might be seen by some people."

"The issue is it doesn't look right -- it's a matter of appearance," said George Beam, an expert on ethics in government at the University of Illinois at Chicago. But Robert Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, said he saw no problem with Sloman applying for Jenne's old job.

"After spending so long investigating Jenne, he [Sloman] knows the problems of the department so well that he wouldn't make the same mistakes," Jarvis said.

De Luise said Crist has no timeline to announce the successful candidate. He said there is no deadline for applications, although many thought that Friday's interviews with nine finalists signaled an announcement was imminent. No other new applications have been received and no further interviews have been scheduled, De Luise said.

Among the contenders is acting Sheriff Al Lamberti, a Republican, who has been filling in since Jenne resigned.

De Luise said Crist and state officials think there is no appearance of impropriety in considering replacing Jenne with a federal prosecutor who was involved in removing him from office.